Brave Heart
by Legendary Biologist
Summary: [GGAM - U] "You are never a coward. When the situation calls for it, you're braver than everybody thinks." When Brandon battles a stray orgman in the slum, Mika shows him her brave heart.


**BRAVE HEART**

 **A/N: Part of** ** _Guardian of a Lifetime_** **series, the fourth sub-series of** _ **Gungrave: Aftermath**_ **. Thanks to Torian2015 for providing an extra pair of eyes.**

 **All disclaimers apply.**

* * *

Small, prickly goosebumps broke out across her body as she saw the grayscale picture of a sharp-toothed giant on the newspaper. The behemoth stood almost as tall as a street lamp, its bare chest rippling with muscles. In its hands it held a sedan, inside which some hapless men sat with their mouths agape.

"It's the orgman again!" Mika exclaimed, her hands shaking so rapidly that the newspaper fell to the ground in front of her and Brandon. She didn't step down his lap to pick it up, though; instead, she turned and buried her face into Brandon's chest, her small, slender arms snaking around his gargantuan body. "I'm scared. What if that monster attacks us?"

A large hand encompassed her back; its warmth bypassed her pajamas and prompted her to look up at Brandon's face. "I'll protect you," he said with a smile.

Instinctively, Mika grabbed the stump of his left arm. "But how? You've lost an arm, while that orgman has two arms. Two big, brawny arms." Brandon responded with a grin, but Mika still had something to back up the fact that Brandon couldn't fight well again. Pointing at the stump of his right leg – the remainder of an above-knee amputation, she argued, "And leg. You have an artificial leg to help you, but it's weaker than your original leg." She wrapped her arms around his torso. "That monster can kill you, Brandon."

The smirking Brandon remained silent, inciting a race of thoughts in Mika's mind. Maybe he just wanted to make her feel secure. Or perhaps, he was confident that no orgman could match his prowess in combat. But the latter was stupid; a handicapped necrolyzer couldn't possibly stand against an orgman. Once the monster smashed his prosthetic leg, Brandon would lose his mobility and thus, the ogre would have all the time in the world to deliver bone-crushing blows to him.

For a moment, she imagined the orgman stomping a crippled Brandon. The picture in her mind sent chills down her spine, and she yelled, "No! Stay away from that monster, okay? If we ever see it, let's just run!"

"We can't avoid it forever." He made a finger gun gesture and pointed at the ceiling. "Actually, I plan to hunt it down. It's to protect you and Millennion."

 _Millennion?_ Eyebrows furrowing, Mika grumbled, "Why don't you just leave this to Millennion's Anti-Necrolyze squads? They can deal with the orgman."

"But not without casualties." Brandon looked down, his gaze falling to the stump of his right leg.

Mika didn't need Brandon's words to understand what he meant about the casualties right now; the remainder of his right leg answered her with its history. Last year, once the Anti-Necrolyze squads showed up with their rifles, Brandon immediately pounced on them, injuring their brains as he drove the back of their heads into the concrete. The agents soon scored a hit on his knee, but Brandon still stood strong. Before everything below his wound decayed into nothingness, he had kneecapped the agents as a retaliation, taking away their ability to walk properly for a lifetime.

"The agents' safety is important, too?"

"Yeah," Brandon replied calmly. "When Millennion agents are hurt, the organization will have to pay their medical expense." Placing his only hand on her head, he looked into her eyes. "Remember why Mr. Biscoe and Mr. Norton were very angry at me back then?"

Mika nodded. Of course she remembered the conflict with those old farts. Brandon wounded their men, which led Millennion into a serious deficit. The organization spent too much for their men's medical expense, and the higher-ups simply put all the blame on Brandon. They always said, "If Brandon hadn't hurt our agents, we would've saved a lot of money."

"Because you caused economic problems to the organization," she answered. "So, we have to kill the orgman if we see it? To protect all of us?"

Brandon let go of her head and gave a thumbs-up.

"But I'm scared." She looked away. "Geez, I feel like I'm just a coward, but-" Suddenly, the image of an orgman trampling Butler Tokioka - the man who took care of her along with her mother as she grew up - cut her off.

Brandon's gentle voice snapped her out of the petrification. "You are never a coward. When the situation calls for it, you're braver than everybody thinks."

"Have I ever been so brave?"

Brandon nodded. "I can prove it to you."

"Really?" But she only earned a nod and a confident smile as the answer. "Brandon, I'm curious. Explain to me?" Still, she didn't receive any verbal replies. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she shook him playfully, "C'mon! Tell me!"

Brandon refused to say anything, leaving a sulky Mika in his wake.

* * *

Later at night, the cold wind from the trailer's air conditioner tickled Mika's belly and told her to head to the bathroom. With a slight feeling of spinning, she crawled out of Brandon's black greatcoat - her blanket - and sat up. Her eyes opened gradually as she stood up, and widened abruptly when she didn't see Brandon on his metallic recliner.

 _Where had he gone? Is he trying to kill the orgman by himself?_ Mika shuffled across the chilly little room, looking for Brandon's Cerberus, a pair of toaster-sized handguns with a cross emblazoned on the surface of its barrel. She dug up the row of boxes behind Brandon's armchair and checked all the drawers in the trailer, but her search yielded no trace of those giant pistols. But at least, she now knew that Brandon had indeed, gone out to track down the orgman.

She had to find and convince him not to mess around with the monster.

After paying a visit to the bathroom, she rushed towards the shoe rack beside the trailer's exit. A pair of rubber sandals caught her attention with their simple design, so she seized them and put them on. Turning around, she pushed the trailer's door open and dashed out before slamming it back shut.

Outside, she scanned around Millennion's parking basement for a guardsman. The lack of car eased her survey, and within a few minutes, she found a guard sitting on a bench beside the elevator. As she walked towards him, the brunette stuck the butt of his cigarette on the top of the trash can.

"Mr. Daniel, you saw Brandon?"

"He went out with Albert," Daniel replied, throwing his cigarette into the side opening of the garbage can. "Heard from others that he was heading to Desolation Alley. He wanted to kick that orgman's ass."

"Can you take me to him?"

"What?" he asked. "Not trying to be disrespectful, Miss, but for your safety, I mustn't do that."

"But what about Brandon? He's a handicapped person. If I don't convince him to come back, he may die."

"You needn't worry." Daniel smirked, scratching his cheek with a finger. "A necrolyzer won't die so easily. Besides, he probably has some Anti-Necrolyze squads with him."

 _I sure need to bluff this stubborn guard._ Mika turned away. "Mister, I don't want him to risk his life." Pushing the 'up' button on the panel beside the lift, she added, "I'll go there by myself then. Because Brandon often takes me there, I know the way."

"Hold it, Miss!" Daniel shouted. "I'll drive you there. Never mind. Just don't go out of the building by yourself now. It's late at night, you know? But first, let me ask my friend to substitute me for the time being." A giggle followed. "As I do, be sure to change your clothes. Pajamas ain't suitable for going out."

* * *

The car sped along the empty main road of Desolation Alley. With only car lights illuminating the way, Daniel had to drive more slowly; lest the vehicle would hit one of the rickety two-story buildings or the dead street lamps.

All of a sudden, a screech reverberated as the car halted. With the seat belt keeping her in place, Mika surveyed her surroundings. A felled street light pole blocked the way. Craters littered the road beyond the obstacle. These had to be the orgman's doings.

"They must be nearby." With a twist of the car key, Daniel shut down the car. "We gotta walk to reach them methinks. I'll accompany you."

Taking off her seat belt and opening the car door, Mika nodded. She had to be fast if she wished to save Brandon. The battle might have begun, but she could probably still ask him to retreat.

Outside, Daniel and his flashlight guided her along the pavement. As she walked, she glanced at the buildings beside her. Peeling paint, dented walls, doorless entrances, and broken glass windows didn't interest her. Brandon had always taken her here for a trip because this place used to be his home, and she had always found at least one of those things on the surrounding houses.

Aside from those shoddy buildings, Desolation Alley had no inhabitants other than animals; a reason why Mika would sometimes compare this area to a ghost town. When it didn't rain, only soft sounds like squeaking rats and chirping crickets existed.

But tonight, an inharmonious chorus of shrieks, thuds, and gunshots echoed across the lonely streets. Mika jumped momentarily at the unusual noise before holding Daniel's arm tightly.

"Um, let me go," Daniel spoke under his breath. Once Mika released him from her grasp, he turned right and sprinted towards the doorless entrance of a two-story building. "Let's hide inside one of the houses."

Mika nodded and followed Daniel into the building. Inside, Daniel's flashlight provided some illumination, easing her heart. When she took another step, though, her ears registered a loud crash. It sounded as though a massive steel beam had just struck the earth nearby.

Shuddering, she turned and rushed towards the window. Having neither dusty nor broken glass, it let Mika see the commotion outside without a problem. Brandon lay silently in the middle of the cratered road; his tattered white t-shirt had turned crimson. One of his Cerberus handguns still remained in his hand, but the blood from the torn skin of his arm had stained its black barrel and white cross red.

Mika almost screamed at Brandon so that he would run away, but terror overtook her. The orgman might appear soon; if she made a noise, she would draw the ogre's attention and put her life at stake. _Maybe it's better if I keep quiet and pray for Brandon's safety... I'm really a coward._

Moments later, with a wince on his bruised face, Brandon slowly rose to a sitting position. He spent a few seconds firing his Cerberus without standing up, which made Mika suspicious about his artificial leg. Observing the right side of his pants confirmed her suspicion; it was floppy and flat like a piece of paper. The fight must've destroyed his prosthesis.

Suddenly, a deafening boom exploded across the empty street. A colossal silver foot - an orgman's foot - came down in front of Brandon, denting the ground beneath. A giant hand came to squash him like a bug, but it darted off as soon as a big bullet struck the palm.

Brandon pushed the orgman back with a barrage of bullets to the torso. Gun redirected to the giant's leg, he fired. Gigantic pellets struck the sinewy limb in rapid succession, etching holes and cracks upon the calf. Fissures spread across the shank, and Mika smiled broadly at that. If the ogre lost his leg, Brandon would definitely find it easier to finish it off.

Unfortunately, the next time Brandon pulled the trigger of his weapon, only a click came out. Mika's smile faded at the sight; reloading the gun would leave him vulnerable to attacks for a moment. However, she let out a sigh of relief when he pushed a button between the gun's grip and trigger. With the massive magazine launched at the orgman's incoming leg, he had bought some time. The blow didn't demolish the orgman's cracked calf, but it still brought about a high-pitched cry.

Looking at the Cerberus handgun between Brandon's teeth, Mika couldn't help but gulp. Her clutch on the windowsill grew tighter as she saw him pulling a fresh magazine out of his pants pocket. _Faster! Faster!_

He didn't make it in time. With a swing of its hand, the orgman sent him flying through the wall beside Mika. Despite the violent impact, he still had the Cerberus handgun and the mag in his grasp.

 _"We can't avoid it forever."_ Brandon's speech replayed in Mika's mind as she saw the orgman looking here and there. Sooner or later, the behemoth would find them in this house and have them cornered; if they tried to flee instead of fighting back, they would all die. Maybe leaving the injured Brandon behind would aid their escape, but what would it yield? A dead Brandon. A dead 'daddy' to be exact. This would cancel all the efforts she had put earlier.

Mika scampered towards Brandon, who lay under the luminescence from Daniel's flashlight. _I'd better encourage him instead of convincing him to go back. We're more likely to survive that way._ Kneeling beside him, she murmured, "Brandon."

Breathing lightly and quickly, Brandon moved his head to look at her with a half-closed eye.

"Well, Sir, you never expect her to be here, do you?" Daniel chuckled. "She asked me to drive her here because she wanted to-"

"Not anymore, Mr. Daniel!" Mika yelled, picking up the mag from Brandon's hand. Sticking it into his gun, she told Brandon with a smile, "We can't run away forever, right?"

Suddenly, an ear-splitting roar resounded along with a loud boom. Mika got up and glanced over her shoulder; the orgman had smashed an entrance of its own with its fists. Despite having a cracked leg and face, a missing eye, and a number of fissures and gunshot wounds on its chest, it stood upright.

"Miss, stand back!" Daniel called out.

A bang interrupted Mika from retreating, but she now found it unnecessary to fall back. With its left leg shattered, the orgman couldn't stop its good limb from buckling. It shortly fell to one knee.

"Mika," Brandon said gently, "stay behind me."

Mika turned and paced past him, who had sat up with his gun pointed at the orgman. Standing behind him with Daniel, she cheered, "Good luck, Brandon. Fight and win!"

With a nod, Brandon fired his Cerberus handgun. The bullet struck the orgman in its good eye, bringing about a painful howl.

However, the loss of sight only resulted in the behemoth reaching out its right hand. A huge cavity opened up on each of his fingertips, transforming its fingers into cylindrical cannons.

"This doesn't look good." Daniel grabbed Mika's arm, pulling her away from the incoming plasma bullets. "Let's get ready to run."

Mika could hear Brandon's roar as the orgman's projectiles ate away the concrete in front of her retreating feet. He was angry. And she knew how terrifying her furious 'daddy' was. "I don't think we need to run," Mika told Daniel, smirking.

Brandon unleashed a series of precise shots at the gaping barrels, bringing about a painful howl as the orgman's bullet-spitting arm bloated. A fiery blast swallowed it, leaving nothing but a stump with jagged crystalline edges.

The ogre now moved no more; however, he still sputtered. Gun aimed at the head of the petrified but noisy orgman, Brandon fired twice. Two bullets ripped through the empty air; one of them grazed the ogre's cheek, another bore a hole on its forehead.

The orgman stopped shrieking, and Brandon collapsed.

Mika immediately snatched the flashlight from Daniel's hand and pointed it at Brandon. His eye was half-open, but he couldn't possibly get up anymore. Contusions and bloody scrapes had marked almost his entire body. The flesh on his forearm, too, had torn off and become a flap.

Noticing the sand and dust around the swelling and bleeding wounds, Mika asked Daniel, "Mister, you bring a piece of cloth and some water?"

"They're in the car," Daniel replied, fishing a mobile phone out of his pants pocket as he dashed past the dead orgman. "Stay with Brandon as I get them for you. I'll call for help, too."

"Okay." Mika knelt beside Brandon, who had somehow cracked a smile on his swollen face. "Just relax, Brandon. Help will come soon." Brandon's arm twitched, but before he raised it, Mika pressed her hand against his wrist. "Don't move too much. If you have something in mind, just speak up."

Brandon nodded. "See? When the situation calls for it, you're braver than everybody thinks." He paused. "You could actually just sleep at home, but you came to encourage me instead. When the orgman had us cornered, you could just run away as I distracted it, but you didn't."

Mika laughed with joy at the realization of her courage. Today, she had seen the proof of her brave heart.

* * *

 **Notes:**

 **1\. Orgmen don't bleed, but necrolyzers do, although the anime is very vague about it. Necrolyzers don't bleed in most fights, but in episode 22, Brandon bleeds a lot after taking Lee's attacks.**

 **2\. Orgmen seem to vary in size. At one time, a bunch of them can cling on Dr. Tokioka's trailer, but there are times when an orgman is huge enough to crush Brandon under its foot.**

 **3\. The Cerberus' magazine is located under the barrel, as shown in episode 24. It is launched away from the gun when ejected.**

 **4\. Anti-necrolyze rounds, although they are just one type of bullet, work against all kind of undead, be it necrolyzers or orgmen. However, they probably don't work on superiors.**


End file.
